At least 16 killed after vehicle loaded with explosives rams into Pakistan mosque

At least 16 people, including five police officers, have been killed after a vehicle loaded with explosives rammed into a mosque in north-western Pakistan, according to a senior police official in Peshawar.

A gun battle is still ongoing between attackers and security forces at the mosque, near police headquarters, in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

One of the assailants has reportedly been killed, an officer says, and a rescue operation is under way.

In a statement, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari expressed “his best wishes for the swift recovery of those injured in the explosion.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief inspector general Zulfikar Hameed described the attack as a “suicide attack”, according to Reuters news agency.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the blast.

Militancy in Pakistan’s border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting the military and police.

Islamabad says militants use safe haven in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies the accusation and says militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem.